Sounds a lot like Aaron Rowand to me. 4th outfielder who gives max effort to barely fit the range of a CFer. His arm seems to be weak though and they are saying no power. Sounds like he has a good eye and bat though, just gets dominated by lefties.

If he turns out to be Aaron Rowand, that would be just fine by me. Rowand was a solid contributing starter who played relatively good defense and could handle the bat okay. We gave up a back of the rotation starter here...people expecting a perennial all-star in return need to readjust their expectations. This is a pretty good trade for the Sox.

If he turns out to be Aaron Rowand, that would be just fine by me. Rowand was a solid contributing starter who played relatively good defense and could handle the bat okay. We gave up a back of the rotation starter here...people expecting a perennial all-star in return need to readjust their expectations. This is a pretty good trade for the Sox.

Agreed. I liked Rowand. Eaton is being billed as a max effort "dirt bag". Can't argue with that kind of play. He's had a lot of success in the minors and exceeded expectations throughout his career. Happy with the trade.

Santiago as a lefty did have trouble giving a full 6 innings. He also had Don Cooper. The Sox still have Cooper, and I'm in full support of the Sox trading from their current strength to upgrade the team.

No I wasn't. I've seen Eaton play in the minors, and I've always impressed that he goes up to the plate looking to hit. I complained about the lack of that tendency the day the White Sox traded for Nick Swisher. Technically, there were posts in the PK thread carrying on a conversation I've had since I started posting here.

The Eaton point was a small one made among a larger point that I think this has a chance to be a solid deal for the White Sox.

Speedy, alleyway slasher at the dish. Quick hands through the zone.
Can easily play CF because of plus physical range, but routes are lagging. Good hands.
Arm is average; not particularly strong, but definitely not weak.

This is a steal. a 4/5 SP for one of the Top prospects in all of baseball last year! What a great trade! This is a trade that could be franchise saving. For those who do not realize, Eaton's ceiling >>>>>>>>>>>>> Avisail's

It's funny you compare Garcia to Eaton...on last years Baseball America's top 100, Eaton was 73rd, and Garcia was 74th.

There's some good write up's on Hawkins floating around, including one that goes from AB to AB throughout several games. His recognition of sliders is terrible, but there is evidence it's improving. He had an atrocious year, but was the second youngest player in his league and hit the second most HR's. He's still a prospect based on age and tools alone.

Oh, I agree, I think most of the negative reaction to Hawkins is the Sox's own history of developing toolsy outfielders like him that they rush through the minors. So, it is what it is.

And yet upthread there is a vid of him throwing a runner out returning to first on the fly from the CF warninf track, so maybe his arm isn't so bad???

And this scouting report going into 2013:

Quote:

His plus-plus speed stands out the most, and he does an excellent job of putting the ball in play so he can use it. He gets to top speed quickly, making him a basestealing threat. He led the PCL with 38 in 48 tries last year. A prototypical leadoff hitter, Eaton consistently puts together good at-bats and gets on base. He added more pop to his package in 2012 and now projects as a double-digit home run threat. He also made big strides defensively, convincing scouts that he can be a big league center fielder. He has a strong, accurate arm.

I liked Santiago, but I never saw much of a future for him: the fact that he throws a screwball is just an invitation to injury. The fact that the Sox got a need filled by trading someone who I see as a future injury waiting to happen makes me happy. Good to see.

Now just draft Alex Johnson and let's hope that he pans out and maybe, just maybe, this team might rebound faster than I thought they would.